Beginnings are always tough; first times, inexorably fussy.
In this tremendously poignant book, Gunn and Gullickson relate
the exigencies brought about by a spanking promotion at work.
Both authors point to the experience of walking the high wireventuring
into the unknown without a safety netas a seemingly disoriented
stance of newly-appointed managers/leaders who confront the difficulty
of transition into bigger responsibilities and who have qualms
about their capabilities to pull off the new job. Explicit and
equally provocative, the book is a pragmatic guide for people
who have just advanced in the corporate ladder yet find themselves
stumped and stuck in an eddy of self-doubt. It spurs optimism
and assurance that the unknown can be unravelled, adapted to,
and overcome. It inspires a new approach to leadership that goes
beyond what a leader does: it is actually about becoming one.
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Edginess
Revisited: New Job, New Roles, New Responsibilities |
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Remember that nauseating anxiety you had to grapple with during
your first day at work--that almost unappeasable disquiet horsing
around your mind the moment heaps of technical reports and research
proposals were handed in by your
supervisor? You suddenly suffer incapacity--your brains empty
and you are unable to act. Somewhere in your consciousness, you
surprisingly dig up an idea of how to tinker with the paper load,
but you are scared stiff to try. Promotion is not spared from
these circumstances. To others, the feeling may even be worse.
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Coming
Into Bud: The Making of a (Fine) Leader |
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You wake up with a job promotion and you are never the
same. You are uncomfortable, discouraged, petrified.
A debilitating sense of unfamiliarity engulfs you and your intellectual
powers if for the time being, bunged. You try to seek refuge
in your erstwhile character not knowing that the script and the
stage show itself had been changed. There now seems to be too
much at stake vis-à-vis leadership roles and your personal
life and your confusion leaves you hanging. How do you cope with
this stalemate?
Rule # 1: Embrace Change with Conviction
Rule # 2: Never Push Yourself Too Hard
Rule # 3: See In Your Mind's Eye and Dare the
Impossible
Rule # 4: Balance Power and Find Yourself in
Others
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Managing
from Within: Reawakening the Soul at Work |
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After testing the waters and somehow finding their feet on track,
the next big task for new managers/leaders is to make sure that
they are able to sustain the posture and constructive “effect”
they have on their subordinates. Productive results are not
achieved overnight, neither are they guaranteed by the virtually
robotic concession of subordinates to their leaders. Managers must
ceaselessly strive to be noble and efficient so that they may preserve
the respect and loyalty of their people.
Rule # 5: Set the Right Tone
Rule # 6: Feel the Floor Before You Get Into the
Grind
Rule # 7: Harness Collective Energy
Rule # 8: Attack Conflict with Compassion
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| Praise Your Way to Success: Rewards
Beyond Results |
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Your journey to organizational triumph is nearly
completed, yet there is still no reason to be complacent. You might
get too ecstatic with today's skyrocketing productivity rates that
you stop thinking about tomorrow's foreboding possibilities. Threats
to business progress are always in the offing. Let loose and go
on the rampage and one day you might find yourself scurrying to
where you agonizingly began--scratch. How do you steer clear of
this noose?
Rule # 9: Stay in the Zone and Don't Get Too Keyed
Up
Rule # 10: Shield yourself from Stress
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| A Final Word: Work is
Love Made Visible |
Gunn and Gullickson's amazing book assures its readers
that the day after a job promotion is not a log jam--an encumbrance
to growth because what hit you is an unfamiliar trajectory. Walking
the high wire is a valiant attempt for self-evaluation,
admitting your Achilles' heel, recognizing your strong points, taking
pride in your accomplishments and reminding yourself that you have
actually come this far. It is normal to be daunted in the beginning.
The task is for you to accept your role and
believe in yourself. Do not flinch. There is no big a fish that
can't be hooked in the rod. In your period of transition, Gunn and
Gullickson tells you to talk to yourself quietly, to trust your
inner voice and intuition, to be committed to developing your full
potential and creativity and be comfortable with it. Get away from
believing that you have to outdo others because you are only in
competition with your own best self. Motivate yourself by recognizing
that you are beautiful and unique just the way you are--the one
and only and the very best there ever was.
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